THE HAGUE PIT-STOP RACE VILLIAGE

THE HAGUE NETHERLANDS

 Alvimedica was the first boat to arrive in the Hague while the spectators at the race village are waiting for the other yachts with abated breath. One of the photographs below depicts the excitement of the Dutch Children chanting the arrival of the fleet. The rest of the fleet arrived in the following order,  Dongfeng Race Team, MAPFRE, Team Brunel, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing,  Team Vestas Wind  and Team SCA. I'm really glad to see that Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, didn't arrive first, purely because of the advantage it would afford the Dongfeng Race Team, even though they are the favorite team to win the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. Alvimedica will be the first boat to leave in 12 hours from the time of writing, followed by Dongfeng Race Team and the rest of the fleet in the order they arrived.

LEG 9 LORIENT FRANCE TO GOTHENBURG SWEDEN

LEG 9 LORIENT TO GOTHENBURG

I started writing the blog exactly one hour before the start of  Leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race. As such I needed to plot the current positions of the fleet, displayed below. My money has been on Dongfeng Race Team from the very start and by the looks of things Abu Dhabi is set to win if all goes well with her. Even if Abu Dhabi race team retires from  leg 9 of the Volvo Ocean Race, Dongfeng would need to at least finish second to win the overall VOR, but that seems very unlikely because of its 8 point penalty and since she finished last in the Lisbon to Lorient race.  Team brunel however also stands a great chance of winning but only if Abu Dhabi race team retires or arrives at Gothenburg last and they get there first. But, because of the pit-stop at The Hague, one never knows what's in store. But first they need to get throught the english channel between Calais and Dover.

Right now the fleet is waiting to start and the VOR broacast has just gone live. The distance to Gothengurg is only 960 nautical miles and equates to roughly 7 days of sailing including the 24hr pitstop and start delay. They countdown has started .. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Bang and they're off. Bon Voyage to te fleet and may the best team win. Below are the first pics of Leg 9.

Overall Race results

In-Port Race Results

The Volvo Ocean Race Route and Distance Map

LORIENT IN-PORT RACE

LORIENT IN-PORT RACE

The Alvimedica team has done very well for themselves by winning the Lorient In-Port Volvo Ocean Race. They also hold 3rd place in the overall race with 32 points. In terms of consistency  they have thus far averaged 4 points per leg, translated to yachting terms is great.  But Leg 9 Lorient to Gothenburg will really determined whether or not they are really better sailors that the other yacht crews.

LEG 9 LORIENT TO GOTHENBURG - HAGUE PIT STOP

LEG 9 LORIENT FRANCE TO GOTHENBURG SWEDEN

The start of Leg 9 Lorient to Gothenburg  will commence shortly and constitutes the last and final leg of the  Volvo Ocean race. However, this leg has a major twist to it -- a 24-hour Pit stop at The Hague --where crew will be allowed to go ashore but the fleet must   must remain in the water. This could possibly turn out to be the toughest leg of the entire race because it is relatively short and any repairs needed to be done to the yacht has to be done onboard by the crew while  racing and  they are only use permitted to use spares and equipment already on board. The pit-stop  can make or break the race for the competitors, considering the teams have been at it for the past 8 months.  With the multitude of shipping lanes and strong currents,  there could be many surprises and it could be anyones race. At the moment Abu Dhabi appears to be the favorite and may win by default since it's already 6  points ahead of Team Brunel, its closest competitor. The first yacht to cross  the line in The Hague will resume racing at 12:00 local time on June 20. Every other yacht allowed to resume the race in the same amount of time it finished behind the first yacht.  This could be have a huge impact on sailing conditions, due to variable weather like wind direction and intensity and  rough seas.

By the look of the race team results below, it is more than obvious that since Dongfeng Race Team's mast disaster and Team Vestas Wind's Hull disaster both teams kinda lost their groove but more so Dongfeng. Before Itajai they had 18 points beating both Mapfre and Alvimedica but hopefully it might get better for them since made 3rd place in the 8th leg. The girls did very very well with half the points awarded to Team vestas Wind. Rather than let me predict, lets leave it to the race teams to fight it out enroute to the home of the Volvo Ocean Race. 

LORIENT RACE VILLAGE FRANCE

THE SCA IN-PORT RACE LORIENT FRANCE

The SCA In-Port Race will take place tomorrow.

LEG 8 NEWPORT TO LISBON WITH VESTAS WIND

LEG 7 NEWPORT USA TO LISBON PORTUGAL

The Volvo Ocean race Leg 8 Lisbon to Lorient is well underway and it's really nice to see Vestas Wind as part of the fleet once again. After a hair raising experience during leg 2 in which Vestas Wind was wrecked in the atolls, she's back with a vengeance.  Currently Vestas Wind is in second position with Team SCA is in pole position and some what of a bummer for me, Dongfeng is in 7th position. The pics below shows Vestas Wind in its element. The last two Vestas Wind pics is certainly not of its proudest moments. 

Vestas Wind is back

Vestas Wind head for lorient at high speed.

Vestas Wind at the start of leg 8

The start of the Lisbon to Lorient Race

Vestas Wind firmly lodged in a rock at low tide.

A gaping hole in Vestas Wind's hull with the  crew standing by helplessly.

Mapfre going nowhere slowly